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Hi all -
Have had a significant uptick in party-hardy guests in a couple of our listings. Not sure why, but I want to get ahead of the issues by installing a noise monitoring device.
Obviously there are several devices out there specifically. made for this – Minut, NoiseAware are two well-known. However, both of these are subscription-based (i.e. monthly fees) devices.
I detest monthly subscriptions (probably more than I should) and I always try to find a ‘buy it outright’ option. Has anyone ever found a noise-monitoring device capable of alerting (via smartphone) the owner without a monthly fee?
Vetting guests is only part of the solution. I do that. But about 2 weeks ago I had a guest, (6 reviews, all 5*) college-educated, salaried sales position, shirt-and-tie in the profile pic, followed my parking instructions etc. etc. all to a T – then ended up raging until 4 AM. I live off the property so wasn’t aware of the situation until the next day when neighbors were, rightly, really P’d off.
I have Minut. I don’t subscribe. I can set a noise threshold & it will alert me. I can even say how long the noise is at a certain decibel before I want notification.
It also has a crowd filter based on the number of devices.
It has a lot of features. I love it! W/o the subscription I can’t see history very far back but I don’t care about that personally. I’m looking for “happening now” data.
That’s why I said you need to vet guests and have CCTV. So you can monitor how your guests are using your place. You are then likely to be be aware of the situation like guests partying and you can sort out the situation before your guests behaviour impacts on your neighbours
Are you suggesting interior cctv cameras? Surely not. Illegal, unethical and definitely a violation of all STR platform TOS. Not to mention creepy.
It is quite possible for a small group (5 in this case) to cause an enormous amount of noise. No exterior CCTV would help. 5 guests went in, stayed in, and partied til 4 AM.
It sounds like it might be useful for you to familiarise yourself with how Airbnb’s policy around camera’s at properties works before making comments like having internal CCTV is ‘Illegal, unethical and definitely a violation of all STR platform TOS. Not to mention creepy’.
If you had read the T&C for cameras on Airbnb you would know that this is not true. They allow for internal and and external CCTV.
My suggestion was actually about external CCTV. This in the majority of situations where guests party will pick up this activity. Where it is ONLY the guests who have booked who party your relationship with your neighbours is key.
Why did your neighbours not alert you when your guests disturbed them till 4 a.m. Presumably you have told them they can contact you at any time if they are concerned about your guests behaviour?
And as you say you can also get noise monitoring software as well.
Internal cctv—seriously? I guess you may be right that perhaps it’s not illegal or against TOS (though I’m almost sure you are wrong about that), it is absolutely invasive and creepy and I would never stay at a place where I have cameras watching and listening to me inside the home.
As for the neighbors—unfortunately they are more of the “passive aggressive “ type who just laid there stewing until the next day. They know my number and we have a good relationship. But as I said I am trying to be proactive here.
Minut would have notified you …with the right threshold settings.
In addition to what I noted in my first post, it’s a house alarm (motion) and tells me if there’s another alarm sounding. Once I got a notice that an alarm was sounding, messaged the guest…they’d burned bacon and set of the smoke detectors.
Another time it was how I knew guests had sneaked in a dog. I got an excessive noise alert. They had left the dog alone for hours and it was barking incessantly.
Since I am (somewhat) remote and “whole house”, I use several tools…exterior cameras (following all ABB rules), “quiet time” signage (I have posted on back patio), party/noise detector and great neighbor relations. Oh, and a line in the HRs about quiet hours & not disturbing neighbors.
@doughpat As you can see from what was posted, what you are “almost sure about” is incorrect.
But I also would find indoor cameras creepy and offensive and would never book a place that had them.
The only situation in which I could see them being warranted is in a hostel-type situation, with multiple rooms being rented out to unrelated guests sharing common space. It would come in handy if something went missing and you had no idea which guest was responsible, or one guest claimed they left their phone on the communal coffee table and another guest must have stolen it.
Or if several guests complained that one guest was leaving the kitchen a mess, but the guilty party denied it was them.
You certainly can get a noise monitor. If push comes to shove, a camera provides real proof (extra guests, sneaking dog in, etc).
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IMO, the camera is a need, and the noise monitoring is a nice add-on.
I don’t know much about these noise monitor systems but some quick research shows me that it’s $8-10/month for the subscriptions. Surely the time that you spend dealing with and worrying about partiers is worth that much?
@JJD - yes, you are right that it would probably be worth the $10/mo (though its more like $50/mo when I consider each listing needs one).
The bigger point is that there is often a non-subscription alternative that is just as good, where you might pay a bit more up front, but then no ongoing costs. Security cameras are a great example. Many of the big brand name systems are subscription based. A smaller system like the Defender series is just as good (I’ve had both) and no ongoing cost.
Yep - cameras are already in place, and have been used multiple times on exactly what you described – dogs, extra guests, early no-notice check-ins, etc.
The problem is when you have no extra guests, but loud activity inside the house. Music, shouting, etc. Maybe “party” is the wrong word (sorta implies additional people). My exterior cameras showed no signs of a party, even though it was loud enough to bother the neighbors.
@aelilya Unfortunately Minut is only currently selling devices with a ‘plan’ (i.e. monthly fee). I’m not sure if its a temporary supply-chain issue (they indicated it was) or if they just don’t make as much money on-the-whole when they just supply the device (I’m sure thats true).
I may end up just getting the cheapest/‘starter’ plan, then cancelling the service as early as possible.
…with the right threshold settings.